I recently saw a video on X of a woman going about her day: washing her face, answering emails, eating lunch, walking through the park.

At first, she's tense. Manically rushing through her to-do list to get to the next thing.

But in each scene, she catches herself. She intentionally sloooows down. Her shoulders drop, her pace cuts in half, she puts her phone down, picks her head up, and lets out a slow breath.

It reminded me how often we're on autopilot, even during the boring parts of our day.

Think about vacation. You don't speed-race to breakfast. You're not inhaling a sandwich while refreshing your inbox or tearing through your closet for the perfect outfit. You slow down. Your nervous system actually gets a break.

Now think about a random Tuesday. Are you anywhere near as calm as you were on vacation? Yeah, me neither.

My wife and I have to remind each other constantly: "What's the rush?"

Your “slug pace” is actually a medical necessity. The pausing, the noticing, the walking like you just finished Leg Day? That’s actually what your body needs.

Slow down. You’re doing fine. The little things are happening right now.

If you’ve noticed, this is part of the reason I put a snail in the logo of Observe & Rapport.

Fredrik Backman is quickly becoming one of those authors I’ll read without even checking what the book is about. From Beartown to A Man Called Ove to Anxious People and now this one, every single novel has been totally different from the last and just as enjoyable.

Backman has a gift. He somehow always manages to sneak profound truth into ordinary conversations. One moment you're smiling at a bit of humor in the dialogue between two characters, the next you're rereading a sentence that feels so honest and raw, the kind that makes you pause and wonder how he managed to articulate something you've felt but never named.

My Friends centers on four teenagers whose lives intertwine on a pier, forging the kind of friendship that shapes who they become. Decades later, that bond ripples outward, touching a young outsider named Louisa and reminding us that the people who save us often have no idea they're doing it.

This is a novel about friendship, but also about grief, sacrifice, loyalty, and the strange ways art preserves the parts of us we’re afraid might disappear. It’s tender, funny, and sentimental in the way the best memories of childhood are.

I haven't read a friendship story this genuine and heartfelt in a very long time. It's clumsy and straightforward and smart and shocking and emotionally resonant in ways that caught me off guard.

This was by far one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve had in maybe the last decade. Fair warning, though, it is INTENSE.

The four-part series centers around a family whose world turns upside down when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for mudering a schoolmate over online bullying.

It feels like a first-person POV as each episode is filmed in one continuous camera shot. The acting is unparrelled and the intensity of each scene will keep you gripped, horrified, and invested beyond belief.

This is why I love Theo Von. Every so often, he’ll forgo the typical celebrity guest and invite a regular average Joe to join him on one of the biggest podcasts on the planet. This episode features an FDNY firefighter who grew up in my hometown of New Hyde Park! It was awesome to hear a NHP shout-out from Theo Von himself.

Tony Bonfiglio is a retired FDNY firefighter who spent more than 20 years serving the communities of Washington Heights and Queens. Tony joins Theo to share about his first days on Ladder 34, his experiences on 9/11, and why the brotherhood of the firehouse is second to none.

Awesome Blink-182 cover that caught me off guard. Zack Telander is also a good friend and former roommate of Chris Williamson, host of the Modern Wisdom podcast.

Thanks for reading!